Cash Infusion from Canyon-Johnson Launches $160M Project

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor
One Santa Fe has been among the highest-profile redevelopment projects proposed for the Downtown Arts District ever since it was announced in the middle of the last decade. Now the $160 million plan finally appears ready [...]

One Santa Fe has been among the highest-profile redevelopment projects proposed for the Downtown Arts District ever since it was announced in the middle of the last decade. Now the $160 million plan finally appears ready to take flight as a late January construction start is scheduled.

An infusion of preferred equity from the Canyon-Johnson Urban fund bridged the funding gap for the 790,000-square-foot mixed-use project, the company said on Jan. 9. The development team, a joint venture of The McGregor Company, Polis Builders Ltd., and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, plans 78,620 square feet of office and retail space, plus 50,000 square feet of public outdoor space. The residential component of the development will be made up of 438 apartments, 20 percent of them reserved for low-income residents.

Additional financing for the residential portion is provided by tax-exempt bonds issued by the California Housing Finance Agency and guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; a loan from the Los Angeles housing department, and low-income housing tax credit equity provided by UIG.

Multiple sources are also financing the commercial component, including a loan from the city, tax credit allocations from Clearinghouse CDFI, Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation and the Los Angeles Development Fund; and new markets tax credit equity provided by UIG. The six-story development will rise on a parcel owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has been leased by the joint venture for 78 years.